Aura
by Mako3
Summary: Ishida's locked away in the dark and losing his very self. Will help come in time before all is lost?


Aura

The darkness had swallowed him whole. It had been so long his mind had trouble remembering what things looked like in the light. Or what light was like at all. For what had to be weeks, more likely months, he had been locked up in the claustrophobic pitch black room. They told him he was bait, but it was obvious by now that whoever he was bait for didn't care to bother rescuing him. The thought was depressing, but what bothered Ishida more was his inability to rescue himself.

Growing up as a Quincy instilled a great deal of pride in him and being a helpless captive was not living up to his great heritage. His long distance attacks held the attackers off for a time, but it only took one spirit blade to the back to bring Ishida down. And to make things worse they had injected him with some sort of spirit inhibition potion, an act they repeated every few meals. Surely there were track marks running all up his arms by now, not that it mattered since there was no way to see them and no one who cared.

Sometimes in his hours of solitude Ishida thought of the people he had almost considered his friends. In the darkness his memories were all he had, but even they were growing dim. Ishida imagined whatever drug they were pumping him full of was affecting more than his spirit. He got flashes every now and then of people he knew, but they were gone in the next instant. He had no light, fading memories, and no hope. The only thing left was his pride and Ishida vowed to hold onto that until his dying day.

In the dark Ishida slept whenever his body felt tired, which was a lot more often then he would have preferred lately. Dreams whispered through his mind before slipping away from consciousness, leaving only a bright orange thought behind. Ishida knew this orange, he felt it deep in his bones. Something in his chest swelled up when he had the orange dreams, giving him an illusion of happiness before that feeling faded with the next injection. Still, the orange dreams came again and again; and Ishida survived another day.

His life consisted of food, injections, sleep, and darkness, so when one of those things failed to show up, Ishida began to regain focus. The food wasn't that great considering he was only being kept around as bait, but without it the orange dream was weak. Ishida struggled to sit up and make his way to what he assumed was a door.

That's when he heard the shouting.

"DAMMIT!! Get the HELL out of my WAY!" The command was followed by some growls and what sounded like a sword meeting flesh. Ishida pressed his ear up tight against the cold door. His stomach was clenched tight and there was a suspicious wetness in the corner of his eyes. That voice. . . he knew that voice.

"RAAAAA!!!" A sudden blast of energy swept through Ishida's body at the roar. His thoughts were filled with orange. There was a carnal battle going on outside the boundary of his cell. His breath sped up as his fingernails marked crescents into his palms. The yelling escalated and more energy was flung around. Ishida's body trembled in wait for the results of the fight.

Finally the only noise was Ishida's harsh panting. If the mystery man had defeated his captors, then Ishida would be rescued and freed. If his captors had beaten the newcomer however (and the odds were high considering it was many against one), then it was almost certain Ishida would be killed — what good was bait when the prey is caught after all. Either way it would end his time in the horrible black prison.

Footsteps approached his door. "Ishida? Ishida, if you're here you better answer!" The voice was rough and angry. Ishida smiled at the irony of his savior being mad. Perhaps he would have been better off with the kidnappers then the angry youth. It was just like Kurosaki to yell at a rescue victim.

. . .Kurosaki? Oh!

"I'm here," he croaked out weakly, not having used his voice since he'd been in darkness. No sooner then the words had been uttered Ishida's body tumbled forward as the door he'd been up against was ripped open. There was a bright flash of orange hair and wide brown eyes before the light became more than Ishida's poor abused eyes could bear. He shut them tightly and fell into the strong arms waiting to catch him.

"Ishida! Uryuu! Are you all right? Please tell me you're all right!" Ichigo's body was warm and solid against him, and Ishida couldn't help but smile. When he didn't answer, Ichigo squeezed his shoulders tight and whispered "Ishida?" one more time.

"I'm okay. I think. It's just been a long time since I've seen light. Sorry to worry you." His memories weren't all back yet, but he knew Ichigo, knew that this man was loyal to a fault. And he knew from the tense muscles and warm breath in his hair that Ichigo had been very much concerned about Ishida's well-being.

Ichigo huffed and pulled away slightly, still holding on to Ishida's shoulders. "Idiot. Why would you apologize for that?" Those warm hands left Ishida briefly and the Quincy could hear cloth being shifted. Then there was a strip of material being tied around his eyes, blocking the brightness from outside the cell. As much as Ishida wished he could open his eyes right away, he knew it would take time to readjust after his imprisonment. Once the blindfold was tied securely Ishida was once more enfolded in Ichigo's embrace. This time he wrapped his own arms around the Shinigami and held on. "Two months, Ishida. Two months you were gone and no one could tell us anything!" Ichigo pulled back again and Ishida let go as well, though he was surprised when the other boy grabbed his wrist, refusing to break contact.

"Come on, we're getting you out of here. And when you're fixed up, then we're ALL going after that bastard who had you taken in the first place." Ichigo probably didn't realize his grip on Ishida's wrist had gotten rather painful, but the Quincy couldn't bring himself to mind so much.

"I have to warn you, they drugged me. I don't know how long I'll take to recover," he trailed off, not knowing how else to express his weakness. Ichigo just snorted.

"You aren't getting out of the fight that easy. Urahara's finding out how to get the guy now so there's still some time before we beat the hell out of him. You'll recover." And with the power of Ichigo's will behind the statement, Ishida couldn't help but believe him.

"Well, I suppose I can't let you hog all the glory anyway. Come on then, Kurosaki, let's get out of here." Ishida smirked and Ichigo gave a relieved laugh before carefully leading Ishida out of the room and up some stairs. It might take a little time, but if Ichigo wanted Ishida fighting by his side, then that's where he would be.

**end note** Inspired by the song "Aura" from the .hack//sign OST. That composer is a genius, btw. ^_^


End file.
